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The White House on Wednesday added its voice to a chorus of condemnation a day after the presidents of three of the country's most prestigious universities were grilled about their antisemitism policies.
The presidents of Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and UPenn all hummed and hawed when asked at a congressional hearing whether calls for genocide against Jewish people breached campus policies.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates slammed their responses.
'It's unbelievable that this needs to be said: Calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country,' he said.
'Any statements that advocate for the systematic murder of Jews are dangerous and revolting – and we should all stand firmly against them, on the side of human dignity and the most basic values that unite us as Americans.'
Liz Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania, was asked Tuesday whether calls for genocide would constitute harassment: 'It is a context dependent decision'
The issue has exploded into view during the two months since Hamas terrorists killed 1200 Israelis.
College campuses have become focal points for protests against Israel and a bombing campaign that has killed at least 15,000 people in Gaza, according to the enclave's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
But at times, students have used chants such as 'From the river to the sea,' which are interpreted in some quarters as calling for the destruction of Israel.
Harvard now faces a federal investigation over allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus.
Republicans on the House education and workforce committee quizzed the three presidents on their policies.
Rep. Elise Stefanik wanted to know whether a student calling for the genocide of Jewish people violated school policies.
Their answers were far from unequivocal, as each grappled with context and questions of free speech.
'That would be investigated as harassment if pervasive and severe, said Sally Kornbuth, president of M.I.T.
UPenn President Elizabeth Magill, said, 'If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment. Yes.'
Claudine Gay, President of Harvard University, testifies before the House Education and the Workforce Committee at the Rayburn Building in the US Capitol Tuesday
Sally Kornbluth, president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was also condemned in a fiery White House statement demanding that antisemitism be called out
'I am asking, specifically calling for the genocide of Jews,' responded Stefanik, 'does that constitute bullying or harassment?'
'If it is directed, and severe, pervasive, it is harassment,' answered Magill.
'So the answer is yes,' said Stefanik.
'It is a context dependent decision,' she replied.
And when Stefanik asked Harvard President Claudine Gay whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated Harvard's rules of bullying and harassment, she got the answer: 'It can be ... depending on the context.'
That triggered an angry wave of condemnation.
Yad Vashem, Israel's national Holocaust memorial museum, said the remarks revealed a 'willful' lack of accountability.
'The positions taken by the three university presidents in their testimonies highlight a basic ignorance of history, including the fact that the Holocaust did not start with ghettos or gas chambers but with hateful antisemitic rhetoric, decrees, and actions by senior academics, among other leaders of society,' it said.
Bill Ackman said all three women must resign 'in disgrace' after their testimony
At the White House, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked whether the three presidents should resign but said it was not for her to decide
Republican 2024 candidate Nikki Haley said she would take action if she were elected president.
'Calling for genocide of Jews is no different than calling for genocide of any other ethnic, racial, or religious group. The equivocation from these college presidents is disgusting,' she wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
'As POTUS, this will end or we'll pull their tax exempt status.'
Billionaire Bill Ackman, a Harvard graduate, led calls for heads to roll.
'They must all resign in disgrace,' he said. 'If a CEO of one of our companies gave a similar answer, he or she would be toast within the hour.
'Why has antisemitism exploded on campus and around the world?
'Because of leaders like Presidents Gay, Magill and Kornbluth who believe genocide depends on the context.'
At the White House, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked whether the three presidents should resign.
She said it was not for the White House to decide but added: 'It should be very easy to stand up and say ... we're going to call out any type of genocide, especially as we have seen against the Jewish community. Of course, we're going to call out antisemitism.
'I can't speak to how their process runs. That is not for me to speak to.'
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